There are four different species of the brightly colored, small-thrush birds in Germany. The best known is probably the European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) with its bright red breast. This masterful singer with his clear verses breeds mainly in gardens, forests and parks with a lot of undergrowth. In the winter months they are curious and often not very shy. Robins are very easy to photograph in cemeteries or in parks, for example, because they are used to the presence of people here. The Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra), on the other hand, is at home in a completely different habitat. The male Whinchat is easily identified by the tan chest and throat region and the distinctive light stripe above the eye. As with many other meadow breeders, the population of the Whinchat has declined sharply because its habitat – the wet meadows – is increasingly being drained and intensively farmed. In addition to the food supply, he often lacks suitable singing stations on which the male presents his song, or he starts his conspicuous courtship flight from here.
Due to the many insects that cavort in the rapeseed field, the Whinchats become magical from these yellow flowering fields attracted. For years I tried in vain to photograph a whinchat in one of the many flowering rapeseed fields in Niederen Fläming. Although it’s not easy to get within photo range of a bird, I finally managed to get out of the car last year. At the end of April/beginning of May, the Whinchat returns from the wintering areas. The meadows are still quite open, the grass not as tall as in summer, so that it is most likely to get the Whinchat in front of the lens at this time.
To cope with the growing demand for top shots of the rarer species of the Palearctic Bird-Lens is keen to enrich the range of pictures of birds you can find in the western palearctic. Trips to remote places like this one to capture images not only of rare birds of western palearctic were very successful. The nice image of the blog is only a first impression, what you will find in the gallery in the “Picture Shop” very soon. Just give bird-lens.com a message, if bird-lens.com could serve you with an image needed before the new pictures are online.